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Riverside Naturally is a community group that works to develop Riverside's open spaces in environmentally friendly ways. 

 

Riverside Naturally works in the area covered by Riverside Community Council in Stirling. This includes both Riverside, a residential area, and Forthside, a commercial area. It is bounded by the river Forth and the mainline railway line.  We often work in partnership with Stirling Council.

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Riverside Naturally developed from the Riverside Community Orchard and continues to develop and maintain the orchard.  It was formed early in 2019 after discussion of the Scottish Wildlife Trust publication Living Cities: towards ecological urbanism, -

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https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/news/living-cities-towards-ecological-urbanism/

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and shares the view that natural spaces bring important health, social, environmental and economic benefits to communities – as well as a lot of fun, enjoyment and friendship. In other words, making Riverside a better place for nature also makes it a better place for people.

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Riverside Naturally is a SCIO - Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation. Membership is open to people who live, work or have an interest in Riverside and support its aims. It is free but a donation towards the costs of planting and maintenance is always welcome. 

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Riverside Naturally is welcoming and inclusive - you don’t need any particular expertise to be a valuable member.

About

Us

Meet our

Trustees

Trustees
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Mary Graham

Chair

Mary joined Riverside Naturally in 2020 and has lived in Riverside for 25 years. 

 

Mary has many years of gardening experience and is devoted to biodiversity with a particular interest in encouraging and protecting native plants. She has also trained as a community herbalist, so if you've been stung by a nettle or a bee she'll find you a plant to help ease the pain.

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Gillian Armstrong

Treasurer

Gillian joined Riverside Naturally in 2020 to be involved with something in Riverside.

 

Gillian helped out in the Orchard once or twice and did a bit of digging in one of the D’s but finds the physical stuff a bit challenging, so her main involvement is as the Treasurer.

 

Gillian has been part of the Riverside Community for over forty years, but was away for twelve during that time.

 

Gillian fully supports all that Riverside Naturally has been doing to enhance the area and encouraging biodiversity and takes particular interest in investigating and logging all species of plants and mini beasts found.

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Drew Oliver

Trustee

Drew joined Riverside Naturally in 2019 to make a contribution toward the enhancement the green spaces in Riverside.

 

Drew is a professional ecologist and is keenly aware of the threats to biodiversity both at a local and landscape scale.  Drew is passionate about protecting wildlife as well as enhancing green spaces (and grey ones too!) to improve biodiversity.

 

Drew lives in Riverside with his wife Kate and dog Broc.

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Imogen Scott

Vice Chair

Imogen joined Riverside Naturally in 2021, a couple of years after moving to the area. Having read the signs about plants and wildlife on her walks, she thought RN would be a good place to learn more - and it was!

Imogen is an instructional designer for online courses, often covering subjects around environmental issues. Her work is desk based and she welcomes the opportunity to get out and dig holes that need to be dug, give the apple trees a haircut, or tackle the wild strawberry network that thrives in the woodland wonderland. She loves meeting butterflies and getting to know the many interesting people at the volunteering sessions. Her favourite plant is a fern.

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Emily McLaughlin

Secretary

Emily joined the Riverside Naturally in 2019 with the commitment to nurture and protect Riverside's green spaces.

 

Bringing enthusiasm and a trowel, Emily proves that you don't need specialist knowledge and skills to contribute and make a difference.

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Emily lives in Riverside with her husband and children and enjoys bringing her children along to help out too.

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Parvin Morissey

Trustee

Parvin has lived in Riverside for 17 years and is a retired life sciences lecturer and enjoys all things outdoors.

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There is a strong community spirit in Riverside and Parvin loves to see examples of community building based on a shared concern for the environment.

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It is great to see local residents and visitors enjoying the many projects which Riverside Naturally has established in the neighbourhood.

Project

Map

Find a little about each area that we are working on.

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